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Alien species as a driver of recent extinctions

TLDR
It is shown that alien species are the second most common threat associated with species that have gone completely extinct from these taxa since AD 1500, and for vertebrate extinctions overall.
Abstract
We assessed the prevalence of alien species as a driver of recent extinctions in five major taxa (plants, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals), using data from the IUCN Red List. Our results show that alien species are the second most common threat associated with species that have gone completely extinct from these taxa since AD 1500. Aliens are the most common threat associated with extinctions in three of the five taxa analysed, and for vertebrate extinctions overall.

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Biodiversity: The ravages of guns, nets and bulldozers

TL;DR: An analysis of threat information gathered for more than 8,000 species revealed that overexploitation and agriculture are by far the biggest drivers of biodiversity decline.
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Invasive predators and global biodiversity loss

TL;DR: A global metaanalysis of the impacts of invasive mammalian predators on biodiversity reveals cats, rodents, dogs, and pigs have the most pervasive impacts, and endemic island faunas are most vulnerable to invasive predators.
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Scientists' warning on invasive alien species.

TL;DR: Improved international cooperation is crucial to reduce the impacts of invasive alien species on biodiversity, ecosystem services, and human livelihoods, as synergies with other global changes are exacerbating current invasions and facilitating new ones, thereby escalating the extent and impacts of invaders.
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High and rising economic costs of biological invasions worldwide

TL;DR: The InvaCost database has enabled the generation of a reliable, comprehensive, standardized and easily updatable synthesis of the monetary costs of biological invasions worldwide as mentioned in this paper, with the total reported costs reaching a minimum of US$1288 trillion (2017 US dollars).
References
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Journal Article

R: A language and environment for statistical computing.

R Core Team
- 01 Jan 2014 - 
TL;DR: Copyright (©) 1999–2012 R Foundation for Statistical Computing; permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of this manual provided the copyright notice and permission notice are preserved on all copies.
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Quantifying threats to imperiled species in the united states

TL;DR: Surprisingly, there have been surprisingly few analyses of the extent to which each of these factors-much less the more specific deeds encomDavid S. Wilcove is a senior ecologist at the Environmental Defense Fund and David Rothstein re­ ceived his J.D. in 1997 from Northeastern
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Accelerated modern human-induced species losses: Entering the sixth mass extinction

TL;DR: Estimates of extinction rates reveal an exceptionally rapid loss of biodiversity over the last few centuries, indicating that a sixth mass extinction is already under way and a window of opportunity is rapidly closing.
Journal Article

Introduced species: a significant component of human-caused global change

TL;DR: It is suggested that biological invasions by notorious species like the zebra mussel, and its many less-famous counterparts, have become so widespread as to represent a significant component of global environmental change.
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